UA women's basketball: Little went for right for Cats in 25-loss season

UA guard Carissa Crutchfield tries to drive around USC guard Ariya Crook during the Pac-12 women’s tournament Thursday. It was Crutchfield’s last game as an Arizona Wildcat.

A Carissa Crutchfield runner circled around the rim, bounced out and deflected out of bounds.

With it, Arizona’s season — and 30 seconds later, it ended.

Quickly, but not quite abruptly.

The Wildcats finished 5-25 — tying a UA record for losses — and 1-17 in conference. To end the year they had only seven healthy players and lost seven straight games and had the worst offense in the Pac-12.

In a season where little went right for the Wildcats, it stayed that way in the final seconds of Arizona’s season-ending, first-round Pac-12 tournament loss to USC on Thursday.

Sure UA coach Niya Butts was upset.

But, she didn’t care to think about what could have been without the injuries, or the frequency of losing in close games.

She didn’t weep for the Wildcats’ season of doom and gloom.

No, she hopped on the first red-eye flight to Texas to watch a basketball tournament — and to recruit.

That’s not to say she isn’t disappointed, though.

“It certainly was not all smiles,” Butts said in a phone interview Saturday. “I try to take it one day at a time, put one foot in front of the other and, you know, try to find the positives in everything. But it certainly was difficult. I’m a competitor, so I want to win, and when things don’t go as you like them to it can be difficult.

“Certainly I can’t deny it was a hard season,” she added. “It was a difficult time.”

Here’s a look back at Arizona’s season, and what’s ahead.

Seven’s not heaven

On Jan. 29, Butts announced that Ashley Merrill, a freshman forward, had left the team.

Three months earlier, senior forward Alli Gloyd — expected to be a starter at forward — was lost for the season with an ACL injury. She wound up a medical redshirt and will return for the 2014-15 season.

In between, guard Nyre Harris left the team, and freshman forward Dezja James also was lost for the year with an ACL tear.

Freshmen, by fire

They had their moments — Jones led the team in rebounding and field goal percentage while Workman was one of the team’s more consistent defenders.

In all, the experience should help for next season.

“Both of those young ladies toward the end of the season were making big leaps,” Butts said. “I was proud of their effort. They fought, they were in pain all year long and gave us what they had. Next year, they’ll be more like juniors than sophomores.”

Farrin and freshmen

You saw how it worked with T.J. McConnell on the men’s side. He sat out a year after transferring, learned the team’s system, and now is thriving.

Butts is hoping for the same from Farrin Bell, a 6-foot transfer from SMU.

“I think she’ll add a little bit to our team,” Butts said. “We’ll get taller on the perimeter. Defensively is where she’s really going to help immediately and make a difference.”